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Mobile World Congress 2017 preview

| Feb 24th, 2017

Mobile World Congress 2017kicks off in Barcelona on Monday 27 February and we’re expecting announcements from Huawei, LG, Samsung, Sony and many more. The majority of the buzz around MWC tends to revolve around new smartphones, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing tablets and exciting new innovations across the Internet of Things (IoT) and Virtual Reality (VR).

Nothing’s ever certain when it comes to MWC of course, but here are a few highlights we’re expecting. We’ll follow up with a feast of video reviews and insights as the announcements are made next week.

Sony

We’re expecting to see at least two new phones from Sony and the rumours suggest that they’ll be the successors to the popular Xperia X and Xperia XZ. There’s also the possibility of a new smart watch, the Smartwatch 4, perhaps and some tantalising hints of a new hero handset

Huawei

The Chinese firm is expected to launch its latest flagship, the Huawei P10. There are suggestions of a high-end spec including 5.5-inch curved QHD screen, a metal body, fingerprint scanner and a dual-lens camera, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. We’re also hoping to see the debut of the Huawei Watch 2 and a new MediaPad T3 tablet.

Samsung

We’re hoping to get a first look at the Galaxy Tab S3 tablet. Rumours suggest a 9.6-inch display with a 2048×1536-pixel resolution and a pen for drawing and notes. There’s also the possibility of a new Windows tablet, possibly called the Galaxy Tab Pro S2, and a Gear Fit Pro fitness tracker.

LG

The LG G6 is expected to be the big announcement from the Korean company. Teasers so far suggest a metal or glass body and some sort of advanced AI on board, perhaps Google Assistant or maybe even Amazon Alexa.

BlackBerry

There are rumours of a new Android-powered candybar handset code-named Mercury with a hard QWERTY keyboard plus 18 megapixel camera and 8 megapixel selfie shooter.

Nokia

Now owned by HMD, the Nokia brand is expected to make a comeback with new Android-based devices. Up to four devices have been rumoured (though probably not the Nokia 8), potentially featuring midrange specs and very competitive prices. Reports of a rebirth of the classic 3310 may well be exaggerated though.

Motorola

Now owned by Lenovo, the Moto brand could be launching a new flagship, but insiders are suggesting it’s more likely to be a new version of the Moto G and possibly even a new Moto 360.

HTC

The Taiwanese company has already released the HTC U Ultra and while they haven’t officially announced a press conference, rumours persist of a new device codenamed HTC Ocean. It could be the first device to feature no buttons whatsoever, relying instead on a ‘TouchSense’ feature that allows you to swipe or tap the metal frame on its edges.